Accountability extends to the reasons for the relief of a commander. The relief must clearly provide the reasons to convey to all others what was done and how the relieved commander was held accountable. Across DoD the mantra of “ lost confidence” rings hollow. Incompetence, personal behavior, failure to follow policy, disobedience, violations of the UCMJ or turpitude?
In the early 1990’s the Corps made a bad decision to convene boards for command screening which quickly evolved into de facto command selection. While boards varied, too many applied sophomoric metrics, political litmus tests, higher HQ interference, gender and race factors, peripheral MOS “fairness” and availability in screening and assignments. If the hand selected are being relieved perhaps the selection process needs a thorough review. Of course the hand selected are relieving the hand selected. Another factor for concern.
I had command from the Company through Regimental level. As the Head MMOA-4 I had a very close look at Officer records, promotion boards, Officer performance and the process for fitness report removal. As the command selection process was debated I was the sole voice in opposition based on my study of the Army Officer Command selection process and previous prior observations after three years as the Marine LNO to I Corps, 9th ID (Mtz), ADEA, the Ranger Bn, SF Group and Ft Lewis.
Had I ever been relieved of command over the course of my career I would have wanted every detail to be publicly disclosed. There are two reasons. To serve as an example to others on what not to do and to reveal the intent of my commander. I relieved one subordinate commander in my career and did not hide behind a hollow catch phrase. I did explain it in great detail to the relieved officer, my officers and to my superior. It was done without rancor or arrogance. Said officer transferred to another MOS for which he was fully qualified and far better suited.
Finally, let me clarify the concept behind the commander being responsible for everything his command does or fails to do. The concept applies to the command and not the criminal act of an individual in his command. Unless the criminal act can be tied to the command’s policies, negligence, command climate or dereliction of duty the commander is NOT responsible for the criminal acts of subordinates.
I do not know the details of the events at OCS, the reliefs at SOI West or some others. I do know of reliefs of commanders by petty, tyrannical and career protecting leaders over my 27 years of service.
I would like accountability to be transparent. Perhaps we could start with accountability for the catastrophic withdrawal from Kabul.
Loss of confidence is a smoke screen. I am sure someone will invoke “ privacy”. Privacy was surrendered when you take the oath.
Well now…the topic is accountability. I do wonder about the US Marine Corps Command Selection System. My perception is it maybe a closed system. You created a close system for the sake of efficiency and to eliminate complicating factors and friction. The problem is by limiting factors it can affect the results of a problem. For this reason closed systems have tendency to fail.
My additional perception is that since the implementation of the Command Selection Board the US Marine Corps has initiated more Command reliefs for lack of trust and confidence. I have to agree with Doug R., more transparency in these matters would be better.
I also wonder if the Command Selection Board sets senior majors on the career path to general officer excluding hard working officers who are aggressive, innovative and true to our warfighting amphibious instincts. I thought the Marine Corps was attempting to get away from the “zero defect mentality” and eliminating micro-management. An officer that establishes “trust as an essential trait” within his command needs to be promoted. Good leaders establish “trust by seniors in the abilities of their subordinates and by juniors in the competence and support of their seniors. Trust must be earned, and actions which undermine trust must meet with strict censure.” I am thinking about the Marine sniper, during the Afghanistan Evacuation, who had the Abbey Gate terrorist bomber in his sights but had to request permission to fire from his Battalion CO. Did his ROE state he was authorized the use of deadly force in defense of his fellow warriors?
We now have a system where the Service Chiefs are required to organize, equip, train, and support their service and the Joint Combatant Commanders are responsible to fight this country’s wars. Winning wars tactically but losing them strategically (Viet Nan, Iraq, Afghanistan War and EVAC, etc.) destroys trust in our military leadership. Our senior military leadership is responsible to explain to our political leaders that a rigorous war, makes for a short war, and a short war is a merciful war. Politically, we have let a war between Israel and the terrorist organization Hamas develop into a regional conflict. Committing our warriors to a conflict must be for decisive results. Our warriors don’t sacrifice their lives, they have to be taken by an enemy. For that reason alone military leaders need to be held accountable. Semper Fi
We do not have a functioning Commander in Chief,the Secretary of Defense is diseased and has demonstrated extremely poor judgement by in essence going AWOL , if he wore a uniform, technically Deserted as it was more than 48 Hours, before the non functioning Commander in Chief was informed of his admission to hospital. The Assistant Secretary of Defense was in Puerto Rico on Vacation. Proof of the mental condition of the Commander in Chief was presented by Special Counsel Tur when he refused to prefer Multiple Charges of violation of the Espionage Act by Joe Biden because he did not expect a conviction due to Biden’s Mental Incompetence. The Secretary of State and the National Security Advisor appear to be making the NCA Decisions for POTUS and SecDef Austin. The Debacle in Kabal was caused by Blinken and Sullivan overriding Commander of Central Commands recommend COA. Ample evidence of this is available in the testimony of General Frank McKensie. Similar derelict of duty at the highest levels can be witnessed daily in the Iranian coordinated assault on Israel, and shipping in the Red Sea. WSJ Oct 8, 2023 less than 24 hours into the massacre of innocents by Hamas, Gaza Civilians describes in detail to include dates and locations of Iranian, Hezbollah, Hamas and others coordinating these atrocities. I have a screen shot of the page. This week the US once again gave the Mullahs in Iran Billions of dollars trying to bribe them from going nuclear. The current Commander of Central Command when questioned as to why Iran was not engaged militarily in order to stop the attacks on shipping and undersea communications cables. He said it was at a Policy Level IOW Blinken and Sullivan again. There is no Accountability at the highest levels of Command. It is no surprise that the CMC has yet to obey the law ie NDAA and provide the answers on FD as required .
Somehow the comments have listed into an early referendum on the 2024 election, the integrity of various individuals in / out of Office, and applied policy. I get it, it's a liberal and conservative nightmare with Evil Orange Man versus Sleepy Joe (+some other candidates). The two devils of the opposite party running against each other, and plenty of dirt on both camps. However, LCpl cFrog was very practical, and remembers that arguing over matters not pertaining directly to beer acquisition usually got in the way of a good beer run. Here, on Compass Points, the hyperbole and strongly held thoughts from all sides is likely to get in front of the discussion specific to the USMC and practical solutions. Enough darts get thrown inside that tent; admittedly, I throw a few. Everyone is entitled to their opinions. However, it won't help if all we accomplish is to burn off the active duty readers through the appearance of impropriety and amuse the FD proponents that think this place is a clown show anyway. There are other forums better suited to that larger discussion...though I do always like watching the good fights that develop from the "F*U!"...."no F*U!" funtimes. I'm not the house censor; just a guy who'd like to see a real impact come from Compass Points and I'm calling out something that looks counterproductive. As they say, 'you do you'. Hopefully some of that makes sense; I have no doubt someone will let me know if it doesn't.
Well, before I learned about the existence of Compass Points from a Marine officer friend, I read the ACMC, April 2021, USNI "Adapt or Perish" article. It was essentially necessary to learn a new language to understand the article. Having spent 19.5 years of a 25 year career assigned to FMF units, with 19 months of those years assigned to combat units (assault helicopters/attack fixed wing), my main concern, of many, was that the new Marine Littoral Regiments (MLR) were not organic to a MAGTF. The MAGTF did not exist anywhere in the Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations (EABO) concept. My concerns were such that I submitted a lengthy "Letter to the Editor" to USNI that addressed each concern. It was not published. Therefore, after waiting a reasonable period, I prepared a slightly less lengthy letter, and used it to forward my USNI letter to Gen. Eric Smith. I explained to him that it was not my intent to offend, but rather to speak truth to power. This was because my conclusion was the transformation to the EABO/MLR concept of operations was to "Adapt and Perish" vice his "Adapt or Perish." Again, there was no response.
Later, after connecting with Compass Points, my understanding of the Compass Points editorial policy was that inflammatory language, in submitted comments, should be avoided. I subscribe whole heartedly to that policy. Active duty Marines are Brothers. They are also Marines who will be glad to accommodate you in a fight if your terminology toward them and their leaders is offensive. Inflammatory, deprecating adjectives toward them and their service leads to the standard "Pig Wrestling Contest." A person in a pig wrestling contest gets dirty as hell, doesn't accomplish anything, and the pig loves it. Most important of all, inflammatory, insulting language in the Compass Points Comments degrades the influence of Compass Points because of its wide, expanding readership.
Then there is the incipient creep of political opinions into Compass Points Comments. Our Oath is to the Constitution and not to an individual. Since we do not have a parliamentarian form of government, our President is both the "Head of State", as well as the "Commander-in-Chief" of our armed forces. This means the President has two constituencies. The first constituency is "We the People." The second constituency is the armed forces. Our system of government places the armed forces subordinate to "We the People." The president must deal with both constituencies while often pleasing neither.
A current discussion example is the GAZA Pier. The pier initiative is a "We the People" initiative. It is an initiative intended to show support for the humanitarian aid for desperate Palestinians in Gaza. It is also for support of Americans who are of Palestinian descent, especially those who live in Michigan. Comments posted in Compass Points that question the viability of the pier are certainly warranted from a purely, military view. Those who are concerned about the pier should know that for the President to do nothing is unacceptable to "We the People." Since crowd control of starving people is a valid concern about the pier's operational viability, I'm sure the President would appreciate crowd control suggestions. My thoughts lean toward importing PLAN water cannons. we see used in Indo-China.
Finally, I am 83 years old. According to my mother who was also there, I was born at 10:30 PM on 31 December 1940 in the Alachua General Hospital in Gainesville, Florida. I have balance problems if I am not very careful. But stumbling now and then does not make me incompetent. I also always know who I am and where I am. Sometimes I have to figure out why I am there. I readily admit there is no way I have the stamina of either the President, or his opponent. My idea of catching up on sleep is to find a chair and sit in it. Whether or not an individual who has reached octogenarian status is competent, or not, depends on the individual. Age should not be the sole litmus test for competence.
It is apparent to me that HQMC is slowly shifting back to a MAGTF concept of operations. My personal opinion is that Compass Points can be a very valuable contributor assisting with the shift. For Compass Points to truly be of value to our Marine Corps, Pig Wrestling should end. I also believe that Gen. Mahoney has done a fine job in Gen. Smith's absence. There is an infusion of important, global Marine Corps activity.
Finally, all of the issues I raised in my USNI Letter to the Editor, as well as those added to Gen Smith's letter, remains valid to this day. SF RSW
It is monumentally distressing to me to see the grotesquely flawed post by Samuel Whittemore published in Compass Points. The Whittemore post is a direct attack on the President of the United States of America, the Commander in Chief of all of its' armed forces. Our divided nation is teetering on perilous political times. The 2024 election will determine whether our messy, liberal, constitutional form of government continues, or is to be replaced by a fascist, Hitler supporting, autocratic dictatorship that is openly planning revenge on opponents. Certain ethic categories will be imperiled if the nation swings to Fascism. Any regular Marine officer, active or retired, who openly supports this type political attack is in violation of their oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United Striates of America. Col. Robert Whitener USMC (Ret)
This entire substack is a repository for gratuitous criticism of the Commandant of the Marine Corps. Are those public (and often grotesquely flawed) posts, articles, and comments a direct attack on the chain of command as well? Is it a violation of one’s oath? Do such attacks by retired senior leaders possibly disrupt good order and discipline?
Accountability extends to the reasons for the relief of a commander. The relief must clearly provide the reasons to convey to all others what was done and how the relieved commander was held accountable. Across DoD the mantra of “ lost confidence” rings hollow. Incompetence, personal behavior, failure to follow policy, disobedience, violations of the UCMJ or turpitude?
In the early 1990’s the Corps made a bad decision to convene boards for command screening which quickly evolved into de facto command selection. While boards varied, too many applied sophomoric metrics, political litmus tests, higher HQ interference, gender and race factors, peripheral MOS “fairness” and availability in screening and assignments. If the hand selected are being relieved perhaps the selection process needs a thorough review. Of course the hand selected are relieving the hand selected. Another factor for concern.
I had command from the Company through Regimental level. As the Head MMOA-4 I had a very close look at Officer records, promotion boards, Officer performance and the process for fitness report removal. As the command selection process was debated I was the sole voice in opposition based on my study of the Army Officer Command selection process and previous prior observations after three years as the Marine LNO to I Corps, 9th ID (Mtz), ADEA, the Ranger Bn, SF Group and Ft Lewis.
Had I ever been relieved of command over the course of my career I would have wanted every detail to be publicly disclosed. There are two reasons. To serve as an example to others on what not to do and to reveal the intent of my commander. I relieved one subordinate commander in my career and did not hide behind a hollow catch phrase. I did explain it in great detail to the relieved officer, my officers and to my superior. It was done without rancor or arrogance. Said officer transferred to another MOS for which he was fully qualified and far better suited.
Finally, let me clarify the concept behind the commander being responsible for everything his command does or fails to do. The concept applies to the command and not the criminal act of an individual in his command. Unless the criminal act can be tied to the command’s policies, negligence, command climate or dereliction of duty the commander is NOT responsible for the criminal acts of subordinates.
I do not know the details of the events at OCS, the reliefs at SOI West or some others. I do know of reliefs of commanders by petty, tyrannical and career protecting leaders over my 27 years of service.
I would like accountability to be transparent. Perhaps we could start with accountability for the catastrophic withdrawal from Kabul.
Loss of confidence is a smoke screen. I am sure someone will invoke “ privacy”. Privacy was surrendered when you take the oath.
Well now…the topic is accountability. I do wonder about the US Marine Corps Command Selection System. My perception is it maybe a closed system. You created a close system for the sake of efficiency and to eliminate complicating factors and friction. The problem is by limiting factors it can affect the results of a problem. For this reason closed systems have tendency to fail.
My additional perception is that since the implementation of the Command Selection Board the US Marine Corps has initiated more Command reliefs for lack of trust and confidence. I have to agree with Doug R., more transparency in these matters would be better.
I also wonder if the Command Selection Board sets senior majors on the career path to general officer excluding hard working officers who are aggressive, innovative and true to our warfighting amphibious instincts. I thought the Marine Corps was attempting to get away from the “zero defect mentality” and eliminating micro-management. An officer that establishes “trust as an essential trait” within his command needs to be promoted. Good leaders establish “trust by seniors in the abilities of their subordinates and by juniors in the competence and support of their seniors. Trust must be earned, and actions which undermine trust must meet with strict censure.” I am thinking about the Marine sniper, during the Afghanistan Evacuation, who had the Abbey Gate terrorist bomber in his sights but had to request permission to fire from his Battalion CO. Did his ROE state he was authorized the use of deadly force in defense of his fellow warriors?
We now have a system where the Service Chiefs are required to organize, equip, train, and support their service and the Joint Combatant Commanders are responsible to fight this country’s wars. Winning wars tactically but losing them strategically (Viet Nan, Iraq, Afghanistan War and EVAC, etc.) destroys trust in our military leadership. Our senior military leadership is responsible to explain to our political leaders that a rigorous war, makes for a short war, and a short war is a merciful war. Politically, we have let a war between Israel and the terrorist organization Hamas develop into a regional conflict. Committing our warriors to a conflict must be for decisive results. Our warriors don’t sacrifice their lives, they have to be taken by an enemy. For that reason alone military leaders need to be held accountable. Semper Fi
We do not have a functioning Commander in Chief,the Secretary of Defense is diseased and has demonstrated extremely poor judgement by in essence going AWOL , if he wore a uniform, technically Deserted as it was more than 48 Hours, before the non functioning Commander in Chief was informed of his admission to hospital. The Assistant Secretary of Defense was in Puerto Rico on Vacation. Proof of the mental condition of the Commander in Chief was presented by Special Counsel Tur when he refused to prefer Multiple Charges of violation of the Espionage Act by Joe Biden because he did not expect a conviction due to Biden’s Mental Incompetence. The Secretary of State and the National Security Advisor appear to be making the NCA Decisions for POTUS and SecDef Austin. The Debacle in Kabal was caused by Blinken and Sullivan overriding Commander of Central Commands recommend COA. Ample evidence of this is available in the testimony of General Frank McKensie. Similar derelict of duty at the highest levels can be witnessed daily in the Iranian coordinated assault on Israel, and shipping in the Red Sea. WSJ Oct 8, 2023 less than 24 hours into the massacre of innocents by Hamas, Gaza Civilians describes in detail to include dates and locations of Iranian, Hezbollah, Hamas and others coordinating these atrocities. I have a screen shot of the page. This week the US once again gave the Mullahs in Iran Billions of dollars trying to bribe them from going nuclear. The current Commander of Central Command when questioned as to why Iran was not engaged militarily in order to stop the attacks on shipping and undersea communications cables. He said it was at a Policy Level IOW Blinken and Sullivan again. There is no Accountability at the highest levels of Command. It is no surprise that the CMC has yet to obey the law ie NDAA and provide the answers on FD as required .
Somehow the comments have listed into an early referendum on the 2024 election, the integrity of various individuals in / out of Office, and applied policy. I get it, it's a liberal and conservative nightmare with Evil Orange Man versus Sleepy Joe (+some other candidates). The two devils of the opposite party running against each other, and plenty of dirt on both camps. However, LCpl cFrog was very practical, and remembers that arguing over matters not pertaining directly to beer acquisition usually got in the way of a good beer run. Here, on Compass Points, the hyperbole and strongly held thoughts from all sides is likely to get in front of the discussion specific to the USMC and practical solutions. Enough darts get thrown inside that tent; admittedly, I throw a few. Everyone is entitled to their opinions. However, it won't help if all we accomplish is to burn off the active duty readers through the appearance of impropriety and amuse the FD proponents that think this place is a clown show anyway. There are other forums better suited to that larger discussion...though I do always like watching the good fights that develop from the "F*U!"...."no F*U!" funtimes. I'm not the house censor; just a guy who'd like to see a real impact come from Compass Points and I'm calling out something that looks counterproductive. As they say, 'you do you'. Hopefully some of that makes sense; I have no doubt someone will let me know if it doesn't.
Well, before I learned about the existence of Compass Points from a Marine officer friend, I read the ACMC, April 2021, USNI "Adapt or Perish" article. It was essentially necessary to learn a new language to understand the article. Having spent 19.5 years of a 25 year career assigned to FMF units, with 19 months of those years assigned to combat units (assault helicopters/attack fixed wing), my main concern, of many, was that the new Marine Littoral Regiments (MLR) were not organic to a MAGTF. The MAGTF did not exist anywhere in the Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations (EABO) concept. My concerns were such that I submitted a lengthy "Letter to the Editor" to USNI that addressed each concern. It was not published. Therefore, after waiting a reasonable period, I prepared a slightly less lengthy letter, and used it to forward my USNI letter to Gen. Eric Smith. I explained to him that it was not my intent to offend, but rather to speak truth to power. This was because my conclusion was the transformation to the EABO/MLR concept of operations was to "Adapt and Perish" vice his "Adapt or Perish." Again, there was no response.
Later, after connecting with Compass Points, my understanding of the Compass Points editorial policy was that inflammatory language, in submitted comments, should be avoided. I subscribe whole heartedly to that policy. Active duty Marines are Brothers. They are also Marines who will be glad to accommodate you in a fight if your terminology toward them and their leaders is offensive. Inflammatory, deprecating adjectives toward them and their service leads to the standard "Pig Wrestling Contest." A person in a pig wrestling contest gets dirty as hell, doesn't accomplish anything, and the pig loves it. Most important of all, inflammatory, insulting language in the Compass Points Comments degrades the influence of Compass Points because of its wide, expanding readership.
Then there is the incipient creep of political opinions into Compass Points Comments. Our Oath is to the Constitution and not to an individual. Since we do not have a parliamentarian form of government, our President is both the "Head of State", as well as the "Commander-in-Chief" of our armed forces. This means the President has two constituencies. The first constituency is "We the People." The second constituency is the armed forces. Our system of government places the armed forces subordinate to "We the People." The president must deal with both constituencies while often pleasing neither.
A current discussion example is the GAZA Pier. The pier initiative is a "We the People" initiative. It is an initiative intended to show support for the humanitarian aid for desperate Palestinians in Gaza. It is also for support of Americans who are of Palestinian descent, especially those who live in Michigan. Comments posted in Compass Points that question the viability of the pier are certainly warranted from a purely, military view. Those who are concerned about the pier should know that for the President to do nothing is unacceptable to "We the People." Since crowd control of starving people is a valid concern about the pier's operational viability, I'm sure the President would appreciate crowd control suggestions. My thoughts lean toward importing PLAN water cannons. we see used in Indo-China.
Finally, I am 83 years old. According to my mother who was also there, I was born at 10:30 PM on 31 December 1940 in the Alachua General Hospital in Gainesville, Florida. I have balance problems if I am not very careful. But stumbling now and then does not make me incompetent. I also always know who I am and where I am. Sometimes I have to figure out why I am there. I readily admit there is no way I have the stamina of either the President, or his opponent. My idea of catching up on sleep is to find a chair and sit in it. Whether or not an individual who has reached octogenarian status is competent, or not, depends on the individual. Age should not be the sole litmus test for competence.
It is apparent to me that HQMC is slowly shifting back to a MAGTF concept of operations. My personal opinion is that Compass Points can be a very valuable contributor assisting with the shift. For Compass Points to truly be of value to our Marine Corps, Pig Wrestling should end. I also believe that Gen. Mahoney has done a fine job in Gen. Smith's absence. There is an infusion of important, global Marine Corps activity.
Finally, all of the issues I raised in my USNI Letter to the Editor, as well as those added to Gen Smith's letter, remains valid to this day. SF RSW
It is monumentally distressing to me to see the grotesquely flawed post by Samuel Whittemore published in Compass Points. The Whittemore post is a direct attack on the President of the United States of America, the Commander in Chief of all of its' armed forces. Our divided nation is teetering on perilous political times. The 2024 election will determine whether our messy, liberal, constitutional form of government continues, or is to be replaced by a fascist, Hitler supporting, autocratic dictatorship that is openly planning revenge on opponents. Certain ethic categories will be imperiled if the nation swings to Fascism. Any regular Marine officer, active or retired, who openly supports this type political attack is in violation of their oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United Striates of America. Col. Robert Whitener USMC (Ret)
Facts are facts!
This entire substack is a repository for gratuitous criticism of the Commandant of the Marine Corps. Are those public (and often grotesquely flawed) posts, articles, and comments a direct attack on the chain of command as well? Is it a violation of one’s oath? Do such attacks by retired senior leaders possibly disrupt good order and discipline?